Wildlife Conservation in Thailand

Forest and Bird, Issue 146, 1 November 1962, Page 32

Wildlife Conservation in Thailand

By

Mr. and Mrs. J. B. Linford,

Oakland, California

The interesting magazine published by the Forest and Bird Protection Society of New Zealand prompts us to write about a Spectacular conservation activity we found in Thailand. It was only by chance that we saw a fine article in a Sunday magazine recounting the activities of Dr. 'Boonsong Lekagul. We shall always feel grateful to the editor who published this article. It was responsible for one of our most memorable days in Bangkok. The article reported on Dr. Boonsong’s aviary, where native birds could be .seen and were often visited by the children of Bangkok. ' A telephone call brought us an invitation from the doctor, and soon we were observing the birds and learning the names of many which were new to us. It is frustrating to see and hear beautiful birds without knowing something about them, at least the family to which they belong, and many of those we had observed were unknown in America. Dr. Boonsong relieved our sense of futility. Better than that, he invited us to accompany him on a trip to the sanctuary where unusual things were happening. We accepted with alacrity and climbed into a jeep and were soon on our way to the Buddhist temple beyond Pakhoum Tani, town of the lotus. The distance was , lengthened by our frequent stops to identify each bird, our frustrations takingwing as we learned the things we had been longing to know.

At the river town of Pakhoum Tani we boarded a small boat with an outboard motor and went rapidly up the Chou Phya, Thailand’s largest river. “Look,” said Dr. Boonsong, and . we saw above our heads thousands of large white birds, their wings black tipped, soaring lazily and coming to rest on what appeared to be snow-capped trees near a distant boat landing—openbilled storks, in for the nesting season. Well over two thousand were in the trees and in the air. It was early December and

nesting had begun. The doctor told us. that these birds had been ruthlessly killed over a long period of years until extinction seemed certain. After much work and conservation education, this remote temple had been set aside as a sanctuary. There were enough trees to provide a rookery and soon the storks were avoiding unprotected areas and had increased in numbers until this fantastic gathering of rare birds gave us one of the finest bird sights of our lives. A profile view of the stork shows an unusual bill, open but meeting again at the tip. They live on apple snails and so are a help to the rice farmers. The storks do not crack the snail shells (according to one observer) but hold the shell firmly in the lower mandible as they use the upper mandible to strike, the operculum. Out pops the snail and the stork dines. The saffron-robed monks at the temple are happy about the sanctuary. Visitors usually leave a small offering. The boatmen at Pakhoum Tani are pleased because the sanctuary has improved their business. Best of all, this is a step toward the kind of conservation which will save the national heritage, which is in danger of destruction everywhere. Thailand is to be congratulated on having a dedicated conservationist such as. Dr. Boonsong Legakul as Secretary-General of Thailand’s Association for the Conservation of Wild Life. s